My husband and I built our home about 4 years ago. When we chose the house plans, we made some modifications to it, one of which included a screened in porch. My late parents had a screened in porch and we enjoyed it so very much that I considered it a “must have” in our new place. I could enjoy the outdoors without having to share my space with blood suckers :)
(I am one of those people who the mosquito's can not get enough of and my daughter Madison has terrible reactions to mosquito bites. It drives us indoors for most of the summer months. I know there is bug spray, but too much deet can’t be good for you!)
Well the house was built, we moved in, and our first summer came around and guess what? I STILL could not sit outside, even on the screen porch. They did NOT screen in the bottom of the porch, so the darned miniscule vampires were coming in through the decking underneath! I was so bummed!
The other issue we had with the porch was that it sits on the west side of the house. Everyday when the sun set, it was unbearable to sit out there for even a few minutes. (like the proverbial ant and magnafying glass!) Anytime we wanted to have dinner out on the porch we had double trouble, mosquitoes and the blinding sun!
BEFORE:
Well this transformation is a joint effort in which my husband got the “HOT” part of the job. Bless his heart, he spent 4 days after work in near 100 degree weather, adding screening to the decking underneath. (I do not have before and after pictures of this project and I wish I did! It was such allot of work!)
The porch furniture belonged to my parents and is very old but still in very good condition. I wanted to “update” the look a bit so decided to re-cover the cushions. I bought the upholstery fabric at an awesome discount store near my house. I bought 20 yards (About $140 total) I still have enough left to make a nice table cloth for the metal table (near the fountain) or napkins etc.
AFTER: Please click on pictures to see the entire photo.
We have a few fish in the fountain! 
To cut down on the heat and glare we added some light curtains to the equation. (Ikea - $149 – this includes shipping because my local store has not had them in stock for at least 3 months and had no ETA. I called their phone order dept which is in Seattle)
You can see that closing the curtains really cuts down on the glare!
We are amazed at the transformation already!
We are still working on some finishing decor touches (rug under the table, artwork for the brick walls, etc) but the foundation has been laid.
Here are a few pictures of the porch at night…
It is a work in progress but I wanted to show you all how different it looks already! Wow it is amazing what you can do on a budget if you try!
Have a great week! Blessings to you and yours!
Karyn
Thank you to Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting another Marvelous Metamorphosis Monday!! Click on the link above to see more amazing transformations!
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